British IT security firm snaps up Espion

The Irish IT security company Espion has been sold to a British firm, Business Standards Institute (BSI). Terms of the sale were not disclosed. However, under the terms of the deal, the company's managers, including managing director Colman Morrissey, will be kept on at the local Irish office.

The Irish IT security company Espion has been sold to a British firm, Business Standards Institute (BSI). Terms of the sale were not disclosed. However, under the terms of the deal, the company's managers, including managing director Colman Morrissey, will be kept on at the local Irish office.

A spokeswoman for Espion declined to say whether the move would affect other jobs at the Irish company. She said that the company currently employs 85 people.

In December, Espion saw its technology distribution division acquired by Exertis Ireland, a subsidiary of Irish diversified services company DCC.

A spokesman for BSI said that the British firm already has 2,000 Irish clients and that the move to integrate Espion would complement its existing business.

"This acquisition of Espion expands our information management and security proposition, enabling us to deliver the right solutions that have a positive impact and help embed excellence, increasing the resilience of the client's information systems and processes," said Mark Basham, a director at BSI.

The deal will see Espion become an operating subsidiary of BSI's Professional Services business. IT security firms have had to adapt to companies' adoption of online computing systems as replacements for physical servers.

"Espion further strengthens BSI's commitment to the Irish market," said Mr Basham.

"It has a proven track record in delivering information resilience consultancy services to organisations across a wide range of industries spanning government, healthcare, education, banking, finance, legal and insurance."

Howard Kerr, chief executive at BSI praised Espion and said: "confidence in the security and quality of data is a $75bn market because it is woven into every aspect of business performance.

"Information Resilience is a crucial element of organizational resilience, allowing business leaders to adapt and grow within an increasingly risk-based digital environment."